The Marvel Cinematic Universe always tries to build up to “event films,” movies that feel so big and important that you’ll tell your grandchildren about your first time seeing them. That’s the goal of the Avengers movies, the monumental team-up installments that see all the heroes introduced over years of standalone movies join forces to save the entire universe.
But when Marvel tries to tell a big story with a lot of characters, it takes a very long time. We saw that with the last two Avengers movies — Endgame was three hours long — and now it looks like the next two installments, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, will be just as great a test of your patience.
Joe and Anthony Russo will return for Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Jesse Grant/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Both movies are still only very early in their development process, but directors Joe and Anthony Russo — who helmed the last Avengers duology and are returning to the franchise after a hiatus — have a good idea of what’s ahead, and how long it will take to tell the story.
In conversation with Collider, a Russo brother (the report is unclear on which one) said, “If I were a betting man, I would say the first one is two and a half, and the second one’s three hours.”
If that sounds familiar, that’s because their last two Avengers movies followed the same pattern: Infinity War clocked in at 2 hours and 29 minutes, while Endgame was 3 hours and 1 minute. Recapturing that epic scope appears to be the goal for Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Avengers: Endgame hit three hours, and Secret Wars probably will too.
Marvel Studios
Is that the right call? Long runtimes became a point of contention for Marvel movies, and the trend with Phase Six has been shorter movies. The Marvels, at just an hour and 45 minutes, holds the title of the shortest MCU movie, while Deadpool & Wolverine was a massive hit despite barely cracking two hours.
It’s been a long time since Endgame, and superhero fans may no longer have the patience for such indulgence. For comparison, The Brutalist recently made headlines for being so long that it warranted an intermission, but it was only 15 minutes longer than Endgame.
That’s all well and good for an award winner, but it would be foolish to ignore the fact that Marvel isn’t at the height it was in 2019. Maybe a shorter spectacle is what’s needed to win fans back. Or, at the very least, mimic the Brutalist and add an intermission for the sake of bladders everywhere.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on May 1, 2026.
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